Chapter 25 : A Huge Sum of Money

The manager picked up one of the purple Ganoderma lucidum with a very professional gesture and examined it in his hand.

There’s an art to judging the quality of Ganoderma lucidum, and it comes with a bit of history.

High-quality Ganoderma typically has a short stem and thick flesh. If you closely observe the back or underside of the cap, the striations will appear light yellow or golden yellow, these are usually the best. White lines are second-best, while grayish-white with large gaps between the lines is often the lowest quality.

Jiang Sui’s two purple Ganoderma lucidum had fine and densely packed golden striations, short and thick stalks, and thick flesh. They were about ten years old, excellent specimens for this year’s harvest.

There was also a red Ganoderma, slightly smaller than the two purple ones. The striations on the bottom were light yellow, and it was around eight years old. Although slightly inferior to the purple ones, it was still considered rare on the market.

Lastly, the ginseng. It was roughly twenty years old, old enough to be considered mature but since it hadn’t yet developed rounded stalks, it was judged to be under thirty years of age.

This ginseng had been processed well: its main root was intact, and its branch roots were clearly visible. It could be identified as pure wild ginseng. However, due to its younger age, it lacked the immense value of more mature roots. Had it grown for another ten to twenty years, it would have been worth a fortune.

Even so, it was still quite valuable and could be sold as a premium health supplement.

While the manager was examining the goods, Jiang Sui quietly observed his expressions, while Mother Xiao looked a bit anxious. She’d heard that Ganoderma and ginseng were valuable, but she had no idea how much theirs were truly worth.

As the manager inspected the items, he couldn’t help but nod several times, a sign that he was very satisfied with their quality.

Jiang Sui, while not an expert, was born in the 21st century and had a childhood friend in the health supplement business who often dealt with Ganoderma lucidum. That friend had taught her a few tricks on how to identify quality Ganoderma on the market.

So she was prepared to negotiate. The more money she could make, the more worthwhile this trip would be.

After a while, the manager finished his examination. He carefully placed the items back into the basket and smiled.

“Ladies,” he said, “I’ve finished checking the items. They’re excellent. These two purple Ganoderma lucidum are about ten years old and top-grade. According to the current market, I’ll offer eight taels of silver for each. As for the red one, about eight years old and slightly lower in quality I’ll offer five taels of silver.”

“The ginseng is wild and under thirty years old, but its root structure is strong and well-formed. I’ll offer four taels for it. That brings the total to twenty-five taels of silver. Does that sound reasonable to you?”

The manager carefully explained the reasoning behind the offer to the mother and daughter, not trying to shortchange them, but instead giving them a fair market price.

This was within Jiang Sui’s expectations. In fact, the price exceeded what she had hoped for, she had originally just wanted to make at least twenty taels.

She was already prepared, if the manager hadn’t offered a satisfactory price, she would have explained everything she knew to try and negotiate for the price she wanted.

On the other hand, when Mother Xiao heard that these things were worth twenty-five taels of silver, she was so shocked she couldn’t speak. Her hand, which was gripping Jiang Sui’s wrist, was trembling.

She was a typical rural woman. Some people worked hard their entire lives and only managed to accumulate a few dozen taels of savings. The household still had to pay for food, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea expenses everywhere.

She had imagined the Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng might be valuable, but she never expected them to be worth this much.

Jiang Sui thought to herself: if Jishantang truly didn’t take advantage of others, it was proof that their reputation was well deserved.

So she didn’t plan to waste any time

“Alright. You’re straightforward, and Jishantang has a good name. Everything people say about it is praise. We trust you. Let’s go with your offer, twenty-five taels it is.”

Jiang Sui stood up with a calm and composed smile. Her tone was firm, confident, and respectful without being deferential.

This made the manager regard her with even greater respect. The young woman in front of him looked quite young, and judging by her clothing, she was likely from a farming family. Yet she remained composed after hearing about such a large sum of money, not an easy thing to do.

After all, for an ordinary farming household, twenty-five taels was a huge amount. In the countryside, that kind of money could build multiple large brick-and-tile houses. Many people couldn’t save that much in their entire lifetime.

For instance, the older woman next to her though she was doing her best to remain calm still had reddened eyes, clearly overwhelmed with emotion.

“Alright,” the manager said, “I’ll have the accountant draw up two receipts immediately. That way, the transaction will be properly recorded, and we’ll both have peace of mind. Once the receipts are ready and we’ve signed and pressed our fingerprints on them, I’ll have the silver prepared for you.”

Jiang Sui agreed. A documented transaction left no room for misunderstanding, and in case anything came up later, there’d be a clear paper trail. That was the benefit of dealing with a reputable establishment: it was professional, trustworthy, and saved her the hassle of negotiating every detail.

Soon, the accountant prepared two copies of the receipt one for Mother Xiao, one for the manager. The manager had already signed both, stamped them with the official seal of Jishantang in the bottom right corner, and pressed his fingerprint.

But when it was Mother Xiao’s turn, she found herself in a dilemma. She could press her fingerprint, but she couldn’t write her name. It was her first time dealing with such a formal matter, and she didn’t know how to even hold the writing brush properly.

She held the brush awkwardly, clearly at a loss.

Both Jiang Sui and the manager noticed her discomfort. But the reason Jiang Sui had asked Mother Xiao to sign was very simple: the original Jiang Sui had never been to school, couldn’t read a single character, and had never learned to write. If she signed her own name now, wouldn’t that seem suspicious?

After all, how could someone who had supposedly never touched a book suddenly know how to write?

Fortunately, the manager was sharp and considerate. He said to Mother Xiao: “Madam, if it’s inconvenient for you, I can write it for you. Just tell me your name. But I should say this up front: you’re already familiar with the contents of this document. There must be no misunderstanding about the money. You give me the goods, I give you the silver. If there’s any issue with the goods later, you can’t wash your hands of it.”

Things were different in ancient times than they are today. In modern times, signing on someone else’s behalf is strictly forbidden. But back then, as long as the person involved agreed and provided their fingerprint, it was legally valid.

Upon hearing this, Mother Xiao instinctively looked to Jiang Sui for guidance.

Jiang Sui thought: ‘I dug those herbs myself, how could I not know whether there’s a problem? They were pure wild Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng. There was no danger at all. She could sign without worry.

So she nodded at Mother Xiao, signaling that it was okay to agree.